Many current personal recovery and rescue devices are not compact and portable. A back mounted recovery device includes a large inflatable bladder and a gas canister coupled to the bladder. When inflated, a large bladder fixedly coupled with the user can impermissibly interfere with the mobility of the user. For instance, the bladder interferes with the use of the arms for skiing out of an avalanche. In another example, the bladder extends remotely outside of the silhouette of the user and can brush against tree limbs and other debris thereby interfering with the user's mobility while navigating through difficult terrain (wooded areas, landslides, avalanches and the like). In some examples, back mounted devices are heavy and limit the amount of equipment the user may comfortably carry in pockets and coats. In still other examples, it is the policy of ferrying services (e.g., helicopter ferries) that transport back country skiers and hikers to remote locations to not allow the use of a cumbersome backpack or back mounted recovery device that can decrease the mobility of the user in an avalanche situation.
In other examples, an inflatable bladder is retained along the hip with a gas canister coupled to the bladder. In one example, when inflated, the bladder remains coupled to the hip (i.e., with a tether), and the bladder can roll the user on to his side thereby pointing the face of the user into the material of the slide. Additionally, while moving in the material slide, because the inflated bladder is coupled at the hip (i.e., at the center of gravity of the user) the body of the user can rotate and the user's head may point downstream of the slide. The inflatable bladder thereby may not protect the head from injury caused by stationary trees, rocks and the like lying in the path of the material slide. Further, the inflated bladder attached by a tether can serve as an anchor becoming tangled in brush, debris and the like and hamper efforts by the user to navigate difficult terrain or get out of the path of a material slide.